When the station wagon was in the shop for repairs, this girl had to share the front seat with her dog Hoobert in her mom's Miata.

When the station wagon was in the shop for repairs, this girl had to share the front seat with her dog Hoobert in her mom's Miata.

Image 4 of 90

A boy snuggled up with his favorite Tonkinese kitty

A boy snuggled up with his favorite Tonkinese kitty

Image 5 of 90

Image 6 of 90

Juliette, 10 months, and her Dobie Ruby enjoying the sunshine in Oakland. They’re the best of friends.

Juliette, 10 months, and her Dobie Ruby enjoying the sunshine in Oakland. They’re the best of friends.

Image 7 of 90

The girls and their devilish kitty

The girls and their devilish kitty

Image 8 of 90

Cameron and Latour

Cameron and Latour

Image 9 of 90

A girl and her kitty, Eleanor, in their groove

A girl and her kitty, Eleanor, in their groove

Image 10 of 90

Image 11 of 90

Julian with his Holland Lop, Mr. Bunz

Julian with his Holland Lop, Mr. Bunz

Image 12 of 90

Julian and his Holland Lop, Mr. Bunz

Julian and his Holland Lop, Mr. Bunz

Image 13 of 90

Adorableness

Adorableness

Image 14 of 90

Two girls in dog heaven

Two girls in dog heaven

Image 15 of 90

Image 16 of 90

A nap is always more restful with a puppy.

A nap is always more restful with a puppy.

Photo: Julia

Image 17 of 90

Two cute girls and a dog named Clarkie

Two cute girls and a dog named Clarkie

Photo: Spring

Image 18 of 90

Standing guard

Standing guard

Image 19 of 90

Pure cuteness

Pure cuteness

Image 20 of 90

Image 21 of 90

Ivy getting ready for her kitty themed birthday party with her cat, Pepper

Ivy getting ready for her kitty themed birthday party with her cat, Pepper

Image 22 of 90

Life is good

Life is good

Image 23 of 90

Cuddle time

Cuddle time

Image 24 of 90

Beach babies

Beach babies

Image 25 of 90

Image 26 of 90

Arabella, 4, and Dashel, 2, with their one-and-a-half-year-old bullmastiff, Rocco, contemplating the view on the Mendocino coast.

Arabella, 4, and Dashel, 2, with their one-and-a-half-year-old bullmastiff, Rocco, contemplating the view on the Mendocino coast.

Image 27 of 90

Neighborhood watch dog making her morning rounds

Neighborhood watch dog making her morning rounds

Image 28 of 90

Fionn and Snowflake

Fionn and Snowflake

Image 29 of 90

Don't worry, be happy

Don't worry, be happy

Image 30 of 90

Image 31 of 90

Wyatt and Tiger

Wyatt and Tiger

Image 32 of 90

Romo kids with Gizmo

Romo kids with Gizmo

Image 33 of 90

Cameron and Caymus

Cameron and Caymus

Image 34 of 90

Sweet puppy

Sweet puppy

Image 35 of 90

Image 36 of 90

The kindest creatures

The kindest creatures

Image 37 of 90

A boy and his dob

A boy and his dob

Image 38 of 90

Olivia and her English bulldog, Madeline

Olivia and her English bulldog, Madeline

Image 39 of 90

Sophia and Eleanor

Sophia and Eleanor

Image 40 of 90

Image 41 of 90

This python named Ginger is very sociable and loves helping with homework and watching TV.

This python named Ginger is very sociable and loves helping with homework and watching TV.

Image 42 of 90

A boy and his Tonkinese kitty

A boy and his Tonkinese kitty

Image 43 of 90

A boy and his Tonkinese

A boy and his Tonkinese

Image 44 of 90

Kitty love

Kitty love

Image 45 of 90

Image 46 of 90

Puppy love

Puppy love

Image 47 of 90

Kaya and Titi

Kaya and Titi

Image 48 of 90

Anastasia, 2, bringing her kitty, Kona, back home with an escape attempt

Anastasia, 2, bringing her kitty, Kona, back home with an escape attempt

Image 49 of 90

Miles and Frenchy rabbit

Miles and Frenchy rabbit

Image 50 of 90

Image 51 of 90

Play time!

Play time!

Image 52 of 90

A boy and his dog

A boy and his dog

Image 53 of 90

Nap time is better with a puppy.

Nap time is better with a puppy.

Image 54 of 90

Chloe and Speedy

Chloe and Speedy

Image 55 of 90

Image 56 of 90

Chloe and Speedy

Chloe and Speedy

Image 57 of 90

Will, 2, and his 15-year-old Brittany Spaniel, Ace. Ace still loves going for walks and seeing the neighborhood but sometimes has a hard time getting around and Will loves sharing his wagon with him.

Will, 2, and his 15-year-old Brittany Spaniel, Ace. Ace still loves going for walks and seeing the neighborhood but sometimes has a hard time getting around and Will loves sharing his wagon with him.

Image 58 of 90

Arabella, 4, and Dashel, 2, with their one-and-a-half-year-old bullmastiff, Rocco, contemplating the view on the Mendocino coast.

Arabella, 4, and Dashel, 2, with their one-and-a-half-year-old bullmastiff, Rocco, contemplating the view on the Mendocino coast.

Image 59 of 90

Anna and her French bulldog on Easter Sunday

Anna and her French bulldog on Easter Sunday

Image 60 of 90

Image 61 of 90

Snuggled up with all the lovies

Snuggled up with all the lovies

Image 62 of 90

Vaughn, age 6, and his pug, Mel

Vaughn, age 6, and his pug, Mel

Image 63 of 90

Kaya and Betty at the beach

Kaya and Betty at the beach

Image 64 of 90

Vaughn and his pug, Mel

Vaughn and his pug, Mel

Image 65 of 90

Image 66 of 90

Vaughn and his pug, Mel, plus a guinea pig named Tater Tot

Vaughn and his pug, Mel, plus a guinea pig named Tater Tot

Image 67 of 90

A girl hanging out with her dog

A girl hanging out with her dog

Image 68 of 90

A girl and her dogs

A girl and her dogs

Image 69 of 90

A little ladybug and his dog

A little ladybug and his dog

Image 70 of 90

Image 71 of 90

Two sweet faces

Two sweet faces

Image 72 of 90

Puppy happiness

Puppy happiness

Image 73 of 90

Hanging out with the cat

Hanging out with the cat

Image 74 of 90

Me and my dog

Me and my dog

Image 75 of 90

Image 76 of 90

The dog wants to play too!

The dog wants to play too!

Image 77 of 90

A mom, her 2-year-old son, Alex, and their cat, Felix, in San Francisco, circa 2000

A mom, her 2-year-old son, Alex, and their cat, Felix, in San Francisco, circa 2000

Image 78 of 90

The same cat Felix 14 years later with Alex's little sister

The same cat Felix 14 years later with Alex's little sister

Image 79 of 90

Zoe's chocolate lab, Samson, makes a great seat.

Zoe's chocolate lab, Samson, makes a great seat.

Image 80 of 90

Image 81 of 90

Zoe's chocolate lab, Samson, makes a great pillow.

Zoe's chocolate lab, Samson, makes a great pillow.

Image 82 of 90

A boy and his dog, 2007

A boy and his dog, 2007

Image 83 of 90

A boy and his dog, 2013

A boy and his dog, 2013

Image 84 of 90

As cute as can be

As cute as can be

Image 85 of 90

Image 86 of 90

Rosie's fifth birthday

Rosie's fifth birthday

Image 87 of 90

Image 88 of 90

Kaya with Betty and Kai at Fort Funston

Kaya with Betty and Kai at Fort Funston

Image 89 of 90

At the park

At the park

Image 90 of 90

Study: Babies who live with dogs less likely to develop childhood asthma

1 / 90

Back to Gallery

Here’s a compelling reason to get the kids a Fido: A team of Swedish scientists discovered that growing up with a dog reduces a child’s chances of developing asthma.

Specifically the study revealed that exposures to dogs and farm animals in the first year of life reduced the risk of asthma in children at age 6 years.

The question of whether childhood exposure to a dog and other animals can improve one’s respiratory health has been studied extensively with mixed conclusions.

This large study published in the November journal of JAMA looking at more than one million children throughout Sweden provides news evidence that rolling around with a pooch as a kid can be a good thing—at least in the land of Scandinavia.

“Earlier studies have shown that growing up on a farm reduces a child’s risk of asthma by about half,” Tove Fall, assistant professor in epidemiology at Uppsala University, said in a statement. “We wanted to see if this relationship also was true for children growing up with dogs in their homes.

Our results confirmed the farming effect, and we also saw that children who grew up with dogs had about 15 percent less asthma than children without dogs.”

Fall says their study was unique compared to others because her team had access to nine different sources of national data and they were able to “account for confounding factors such as asthma in parents, area of residence and socioeconomic status.”

Since 2001 Swedes have been required to register their dogs with the government and the team was able to look at whether having a parent registered as a dog-owner or animal farmer led to a later diagnosis or medication for childhood asthma.

The next step, Fall says, is to determine why animal exposure can reduce asthma risk. ’These kind of epidemiological studies look for associations in large populations but do not provide answers on whether and how animals could protect children from developing asthma,” Fall said.

Furry photos: Since we’re on the topic of dogs, we decided to share with you SFGate’s favorite reader gallery featuring kids and their pets above.